War I, the olive drab service uniform had gradually become used more frequently and the blue uniform was worn only on formal dress occasions. As a result, metal insignia was authorized for wear on the service uniform on the shoulder loop and on the collar of the shirt when worn without a jacket. Shortly after the United States entered the war, only the service olive drab uniform was being worn. The need for an insignia for the second lieutenant became urgent. Among the proposals was one to authorize for that grade a single bar, the first lieutenant two bars, and the captain three bars. However, the policy of making as little change as possible prevailed, and a gold bar was adopted in 1917, following the precedent previously established by the adoption of the major's insignia. In 1944, officers and enlisted personnel in leadership positions started wearing leader identification badges - narrow green bands under their rank insignia; this was initially approved as a temporary measure for European Theater of Operations, but was approved for select branches in 1945 then for the entire Army in 1948. Timeline See also United States Army enlisted rank insignia Comparative army officer ranks of the Americas Notes References External links US Army Officer Ranks - United States Army website Department of Defense Rank Insignias — Officers Rank US Army Officer insignia Silver and Gold Rank Insignia in the US Armed Forces uniform-reference.net United States Army officers United States Army rank insignia cs:Seznam hodností ozbrojených sil Spojených států amerických he:דרגות הכוחות המזוינים של ארצות הברית pl:Stopnie wojskowe Stanów Zjednoczonych